Small Great Things

Recently, I read a book by Jodi Picoult entitled Small Great Things. Per usual, Jodi addressed many controversial, racial, social, medical, and legal issues sprinkling them into a compelling page-turning book. Though this book centered around a premature baby, a black nurse, and a set of white supremacist parents, I’m not addressing these topics here. Instead, I will talk about the concept of small great things and how we need to be thankful for them in our lives. 

Throughout my life, my dad wanted me to be famous. “If you’re going to be a garbage collector, then, you have to be the best garbage collector in the city.” He meant his words to be inspiring like the quote attributed to motivational speaker Norman Vincent Peale which says, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars”.  

I understand what he was trying to say! Throughout my life, I have tried to reach for the stars. Aspiring to be a world-renowned opera singer, pianist, psychotherapist, author, and speaker. And yet, I always felt like I fell short. Even though I reached the moon-starring in two operas, publishing my memoir, building my former Habitat for Humanity home, being Miss Colorado Senior America and fourth runner-up in the National MSA pageant, and climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge, I wasn’t enough.  

What if I felt enough? 

What if I had focused on the small great things in my life?  

Would having this perspective change my life’s trajectory? 

Who knows! On one hand, I feel blessed by my life. I’m grateful for the many experiences I’ve had. On the other hand, I would have liked to have seen what life would have been like if I found myself sitting amongst the stars.  

Today, I feel blessed with the small great things in my life! Sharing lunch with my brother over a bowl of noodle soup; feeling the crunch of snow upon my boots on a long winter’s walk; hearing the church bells ringing from a far-off steeple; or smelling a vanilla-scented candle burning in the comfort of my home. These simple small great things warm my heart and give my spirit pause! 

Can I be content with these small great things

Do I always have to be reaching for those stars? 

Is it okay to sit in the silence and wonder? 

I think life must have balance. Life must be reaching for those stars with one hand and being grateful for the small great things with the other. It’s not what we have that matters, it’s what we do with what we have! To breathe, and be grateful for the breath! To hope, and to be grateful for the inspiration. To laugh, and be grateful for the heart-filled joy. As we walk through life’s various stages, looking forward and glancing backward at the same time is okay. However, walking backward most of the time causes us to stumble and fall. We must have gratitude for the small great things and keep moving forward. In doing so, we can reach for those stars. For in God’s perfect alignment infinite blessings always abound. I challenge you as you find yourself reaching for your own stars to be grateful for the small great things in your life. Bring them to mind and count them one by one. How many can you list? In living in harmony with yourself you can certainly change the way you see and you can certainly change the way you live.  

p.s., If you’re one of the first five people to email me and tell me how you have used this concept of “Small Great Things” in your life to change the way you see and change the way you live, I’ll give you 15% off my upcoming, soon to be published, workbook: “Soaring into Greatness: How to Live an Unstoppable, Unforgettable, Unbelievable Life”. 

 

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